It’s been a terribly hard week for me as my G.M  and Man Friday, the lovely Michelle has been on vacation so I have really had to get back to a serious work schedule in the office.

At least that was the plan 🙂 … Until I popped into Turmeaus Mayfair on Wednesday and foolishly announced it on Twitter whereupon a few of my regular smoking chums decided that they would ambush me in the cigar sampling room and we should do an impromptu sampling session of Orchant Seleccion by Oliva cigars!

Needless to say 2 hours later we had thoroughly tested all 3 sizes, accompanied by a bottle of Dancing Stag Ben Nevis single malt whisky (by Robert Graham) and this rather dedicated focus group were very impressed with the results.

We decided that the Skinny was the breakfast smoke , the Shorty was the mid-afternoon smoke and the Chubby was perfect as a late night smoke. My chums cleared out / purchased almost all of the Orchant Seleccion Oliva stock in the humidor so at least I can pretend I was working hard!

Well that was a good warm up pre-pre-herf for our Thursday evening Burns Night herf which started with a pre herf at the office where we sampled some H Upmann Connoisseur No. 1 together with a bottle of Dancing Stag Bowmore 1990.

No one buys Connoisseur No. 1 anymore and we can’t understand why? (not fashionable? No new sexy name or size?)  the cigars are a Hermosos no. 4, one of my favourite vitolas measuring in at 5” length and 48 ring gauge, They were absolutely delicious, full flavour, medium strength and perfect construction.

We moved on to the main event with dinner at the fabulous Boisdale Belgravia. Complete with the Burns night piper and the address to the haggis (sorry to my overseas readers who this must sound very strange to!)

Well, dinner was splendid as always (both food and service – thank you Boisdale!) but the usual fast affair as we really wanted to get to the cigar terrace to herf. By this time our group had swelled to 13 members which was a pretty good crowd. We whammed through another focus group for Oliva Orchant Seleccion and the results were the same with as the previous afternoon with everyone enjoying them and loads of orders placed (I was working hard – really!)

I then treated the boys to a box of Bolivar Belicosos from dress box with my favourite code TEB – JUN07 – 2007 vintage. The cigars were simply sublime, like nectar, sweet and full flavoured. Medium strength, perfect draw, colorado wrappers and everyone raved about them. Goes to show, I can still pick a winner after all these years 🙂

The herfing continues next week at our gorgeous La Casa del Habano in Chester where I will host an open tasting evening featuring Dalmore and Jura single malt whiskies and some of my favourite Havana cigars. If you came to my evenings in December you know what a fun time we have!

La Casa is due to receive the new Montecristo Churchill Anejado any minute now and I can’t wait to try them. If they are anywhere as good as the Romeo Piramides Anejados we are in for a treat.

Online Auction site is live and bids are already being entered. Massive range of aged and rare Havanas and some of the most beautiful Pre Embargo cigars we have ever offered. Check it out on this link http://www.onlinecigarauctions.com/index.php

Have a smokey weekend

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Just back from sunny Florida to awfully cold London and yes, you guessed it, I was working on our long overdue US version of Inca-Secret Blend cigars. Well the good news is the cigars have finally arrived on the other side of the Pond ☺ and we hope to be rolling out the first batch in the next few weeks if all goes to plan (which it rarely does!)

We held yet more focus group taste testing’s with a variety of friends and if the fact that everyone was nubbing them is anything to go by, I think the market will receive my cigars very well indeed; full flavour but light to medium in strength, smooth, creamy, floral but sweet. Perfect construction and colorado maduro wrappers. All tobacco 100% from Peru. Filler, binder and wrapper – a true puros that is sure to please. All tobacco aged minimum 3 years so no aggression or harshness in the character of the blend from the first to the last puff. More details to follow once released.

As luck would have it new cigar releases arrived whilst I was abroad and were already flying off the shelves by the time I got back:

Trinidad Vigia – great size at 4 1/3” length  and 54 ring gauge.

Partagas Serie D No. 6 – short at 3 ½ “ length and 50 ring gauge but packs a punch and perfect when you’re pushed for time and want volumes of flavour burst.

Romeo y Julieta Piramides – my favourite of the three new Havanas, 6 1/8” length and 52 ring gauge with all tobacco aged for 5-8 years. Very smooth and full flavour.

And… My Orchant Seleccion cigars by Oliva look like they may be a contender for fastest selling new world cigar this year with demand quite staggering for the Shorty. Skinny and Chubby are not too far behind!

Excellent quality and value new Dunhill Aged Reserva Especial Trilogia has just arrived as well. Guaranteed best price in the UK (like all cigars I sell!)

Check this out for cool presentation and they ain’t too shabby a smoke either. C.Gars Ltd loves Alec Bradley cigars!

First auction of the year due to go online in the next hour or so. Check out almost 300 Lots of cigars on this website.  A wonderful catalogue of Aged and Rare, Davidoff and Dunhill, Limited and regional Havana cigars.

Viewing at our offices Monday to Friday by appointment please [email protected]  Our online auctions have been hugely popular over the last 2 years and we are already filling the catalogue for the June auction. Its works much like eBay… Think of it as cBay for cigars!

Mouth-watering Pre Embargo cigars on offer including boxes of 25, cabinets of 50 and 100 – simply breath taking, perfect condition and provenance.

You can bid from now – today, right up to the last second – make sure you have a fast connection ☺ happy to help with shipping too and storage if required.

Checkout this new online cigar magazine – its brilliant! Well done Nic Wing ☺ already famous for his London Cigar walks and a fabulous ambassador for the UK cigar trade.

Okay that’s the news for now as I have to ‘really work’ this week as Michelle is on vacation in the sunshine!

I’m off to Turmeaus Liverpool and La Casa del Habano Chester next week and looking forward to herfing with our friend up North 🙂 Tuesday evening we will hold another open tasting evening at La Casa with a good Havana cigar sampling and some great single malt whisky. If you subscribe to my newsletter you’ll get the full details. Pre booking essential.

Always online 24/7 for any advice regardless of whether you wish to order.

Peaceful puffing

Mitchell

Happy New Year folks! I had a few days break over Christmas and New Year with family and friends and enjoyed some of the finest Havanas including an outrageously good cabinet of Davidoff Chateau Mouton Rothschild from the 1980’s.

I paired up the smokes with a few bottles of Dom Perignon for New Year’s Eve which worked very well indeed. I contrasted the old with some new and it just had to be Cohiba Robusto Supremo Limited Edition. Puffing our way through a box of these with my Father and pairing them up with some Robert Graham Dancing Stag Deanston was a sublime experience.

This has to be one of the finest limited edition cigars ever to have come from Havana. Crafted to perfection, volumes of smooth sweet flavours and perfectly balanced with medium strength. They have become our fastest selling limited edition of all time.

Back to work now and very excited about 2015  🙂 Next week I expect to launch our new and exclusive range of Orchant Seleccion Oliva cigars. 3 sizes in boxes of 10 in a limited edition that my clients will love as they are exceptionally quality and will be incredibly good value.

I love Oliva cigars and clearly so do C.Gars and Turmeaus clients as our sales on this range keep growing year on year. Oliva had a fabulous year winning awards both in the UK and the USA. We have the full range available and of course will never be beaten on price in the UK.

New World cigars gained a level of popularity increase like I have never seen before in the last year with so many smokers trying different regions and brands to contrast against Havanas. It’s great to have exclusive lines and one that is rapidly becoming a firm favourite is the Nat Sherman range (only available from C.Gars) First rate quality, popular sizes and fantastic value.

Also expecting the rare and limited edition Padron 50^th Anniversary Humidor next week. I first saw this beautiful creation at the IPCPR trade show in Las Vegas last Summer and it took my breath away. Stylish and classy and containing 50 cigars measuring 6 ½” length and 50 ring gauge.

(‘The Hammer’) Only 1000 numbered humidors have been made and they are sure to become a desirable collector’s item.

More new Havana cigar releases expected in the next few weeks too including the Partagas SD No. 6  🙂  a short fat 50 ring gauge 20 minute smoke that is a great size. More details to follow.

Our next vintage cigar auction is being held online on the 1^st February, visit the website here, and the catalogue is already full. A magnificent range of aged, rare, Davidoff, Pre Embargo and vintage cigars will be offered to online bidders. I expect that the Lots will all be online for clients to peruse and bid on mid-January. Almost 300 Lots will be sold and no doubt some bargains will be bagged. Most of the Lots are at our London offices and as usual will be available for viewing by appointment.

I’m heading up to Liverpool and Chester Turmeaus and La Casa del Habano shops early next week and meeting our architects to go through first draft plans of our new cigar megastore that we expect to open by the Summer. This will be the largest cigar store in Europe with almost 5000 square feet of retail space showcasing our entire range of cigars, humidors and accessories. If you have ever been to a JR cigar store in the USA you will get the picture! It’s a helluva project but very exciting 🙂

Later next week I’m heading over to the USA to finally start the launch process of the long awaited Inca Secret Blend range of cigars that I have created for the International market. Launching an aged leaf limited edition of 2 sizes as the inaugural release which will be followed  up by a comprehensive range. Unique box design and incredible blend. I should know as I’ve been working on it for the last 3 years!

The premium International range of Inca – Secret Blend follows the success story of the mid-market range of Inka – Secret Blend I created for the UK market some 3 years ago which rapidly became our best-selling New World cigar in the handmade sweet Peruvian tobacco at an unbeatable price range in its category.

Okay so I better stop blogging and make sure the orders are being packed! From the volume of orders received over the last 48 hours it looks like everyone had a very smokey New Year!

Have a smokey weekend,

Peaceful puffing,

Mitchell